1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in a wire ends processing apparatus to prepare wires necessary for electric wiring by cutting off a predetermined length of a wire fed from a wire paying-out device, conveying the cut length of wire in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the paid-out wire and subjecting the wire end portions to various kinds of processing such as stripping of the wire ends and attachment of connectors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional wire ends processing apparatus is illustrated in a perspective view shown in FIG. 7.
In the figure, the apparatus 2 generally includes a wire feed device 3, a reversing device 4, a cutting device 5, a conveyer device 6, a stripping device 7, a sensor 8, a connector pressing device 9 and another sensor 10. The apparatus 2 further includes an automatic control device 1 for controlling these devices automatically, a platform 11 on which the respective devices are mounted and a table 12 for supporting the wires carried in a hair-pin form by the conveyer device 6 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Number 64-5424), wherein each assembly of the wire ends processing apparatus 2 is operated by an output signal of the control device 1 which is based on information carried on a magnetic tape or like storage means of the control device.
The function of each of the wire ends processing apparatus 2 is explained as below.
A wire feed device 3 is adapted to pay out a wire W from a reel (not shown) by a predetermined distance and feed the thus paid-out wire W to a reversing device 4. The reversing device 4 is adapted to clamp an end portion of the wire W and rotate along the paid-out direction of wire so as to reverse in a hair-pin configuration. The cutting device 5 cuts off a predetermined length of the wire fed in relation with the action of the wire feed device 3 and the reversing device 4. The conveyer device 6 functions to transfer the wire cut off by the cutting device 5 to any of various devices for processing the ends of the wire such as to the stripping device 7, the sensor 8, and to a connector pressing device 9 by a gripper 14 provided on an endless chain 13, wherein the stripping device 7 removes the insulating cover from each end portion of the wire brought thereto by the conveyer device 6, and the sensor 8 determines whether or not the uncovered condition of the wire is acceptable. Each of the connector pressing devices 9 is adapted to press and clamp an electric connector member onto a naked conductor portion of the wire, and the sensor 10 judges the clamped condition of the connector on the wire.
In summary, a wire ends processing apparatus as constructed above comprises the steps of causing clamp pawls provided to a reversing device 4 to grip an end portion of a wire W fed by a wire feed device 3, turning the wire round by the reversing device 4 in a direction opposite to the wire fed direction, paying out, by a desired distance, the wire W on the side opposite to one gripped by the clamp pawls and cutting the wire, then stripping the insulating cover of one end of the wire by the stripping device 7, and finally pressing and clamping an electric connector member onto a naked conductor portion of the wire by the connector pressing device 9.
By the way, a current trend in the art of wire harness production is going rather to a small-amount, many-kind production system than to a simple system based on quantity alone. In this connection, there is an increasing demand for an apparatus which, using a single wire processing device, performs, for example, clamping and pressing of different kinds of electric connectors on various standards (of diameter, form, color of insulating cover etc.) and length of wires.
However, a replacement of one type of electric connector with another type in the connector pressing device 9 of the above apparatus 2 requires first removal of an applicator 9a, which is composed of a pressing mold and a connector feeding assembly and is exclusively used to one type of electric connector, from the connector pressing device 9 fixed to the apparatus 2, and further requires, after a new electric connector is installed to a newly provided applicator 9a, an adjustment of the crimping height, which consumes a substantially long time. Moreover, since the apparatus 2 cannot be activated as a whole during such replacing operation, if the steps of these procedures are increased, an efficiency of the production is substantially lowered.
In addition, a wire for a water-proof connector, as shown in FIG. 8, needs being provided with a rubber plug 15 thereto before the connector pressing operation, and in this case, a rubber plug inserter can be disposed between the cutting device 5 and the stripping device 7 as a normal procedure. However, since rubber plugs to be installed also differ in accordance with the standard of wire or size of the connector housing in which they are to be inserted, installation of a rubber plug inserter or the replacement thereof equally takes time just like the case of the connector pressing device.